Taking Fate's Place
by TheHunter747
Summary: When a cunning bit of treachery by Hades incapacitates Zeus just before the next Game of Fates is played, Hera calls upon Harry to take Zeus' place to protect everyone and everything he holds dear. But treachery is always just around the corner, especially when the God of the Underworld is playing...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is an idea that I had while eating. Not sure what that says about me, but oh well. I don't own the characters or the fandom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ZEUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing he noticed was the light. It was much, much brighter than in Gryffindor Tower. And there were oddly shaped columns of some kind of white stone surrounding him. Hearing footsteps, he swung round, ready to attack whoever it was if they were a danger. A woman, dressed in an oddly fashioned purple robe that seemed to glow, with red hair and green eyes, stood before him.

"Mum?"

Now in all fairness, Harry Potter had never met his mother. He had seen pictures, certainly, but he had never met her. And given the whole 'heavenly' feel to this place, he could be forgiven for thinking he had died and was being met by his mother at the gates of heaven. Unfortunately, while some of this was true, the woman before him was not Lily Potter.

"No, Harry. My name is Hera. I called you here because I need your help, and no one else could be trusted."

"Oh. Hera? Like the Greek goddess? And why do you need my help?"

"Yes, precisely. Hades, god of the Underworld, has challenged my husband, Zeus, to a Game. But after Zeus accepted, Hades pulled a dirty trick, and had his followers trap my husband in a nightmare that he will not awaken from before the Game starts." Even in the obviously rushed explanation, Harry could hear the capitalized letter at the start of the word 'game'.

"OK. So, you want me to break the curse? How do I do that? And what is this Game?"

"No Harry. I have tasked another of the minor gods with breaking the curse and freeing Zeus from his nightmare. What I want you to do is take my husband's place, and play the Game against Hades. To explain every nuance of the Game would take to much time, and I'm not sure mortals could even understand it, but it is essentially a chess match, except that every move you make will have an impact on the real world. To illustrate, in the last Game, which to your mind took place last year, Zeus lost a piece to Hades near the end of the Game. That piece represented Cedric Diggory. In your world, Cedric was killed by Voldemort. The two events happened simultaneously, Harry."

"You mean...every move I make could get my friends killed? No. No way. I refuse to put them in danger like that."

"No! Harry, please, understand, if you refuse to play the Game, no one can oppose Hades. Only you and Zeus have the power necessary to take him on and even hope to win. The last Game was won, but the victory was a costly one, and if you don't play, Hades wins by default. The only way your friends and family have a chance is if you play. Please, Harry, I beg of you, play this Game, even if only till Zeus awakens once more. Please?"

So it was either play against Hades, Lord of the Dead and God of the Underworld, and risk his friends lives, or refuse to play and doom them all anyway. Hera was clearly desperate, and wanted - no, needed - Harry to play. Hermione always did say he had a 'saving-people thing', he thought with a sigh.

"Alright, I'll do it. How do I play? Is someone going to teach me?"

The relief Hera felt was palpable. "No, Harry, I'm sorry. The Game starts immediately. It's a miracle in and of itself that I managed to delay the start this long. Follow me."

The goddess turned and swept through long corridors, all made of the same material - marble, Harry now realised, eventually coming to a huge hallway, filled with people - the rest of the Greek Pantheon, Harry realized, all whispering as soon as they saw him. Of course, thanks to Umbridge and Fudge's smear campaign, Harry was able to ignore them, and simply followed Hera to a large circular table.

Halting, Hera nudged him over to a blue square with the symbol of Zeus - a lightning bolt, ironically - telling him to wait there, and that a chair would be brought over for him once Hades arrived. In a corner, three women stood, decrepit and ancient. They only had one eye between them, and a pair of scissors were held in the hands of the tallest one. With a start, Harry recognized them from his History lessons in primary school - the Fates, the women who cut the threads of life when a person died.

The doors at the back of the hall were flung open, and a man - if he could be called such - walked in. The man's skin and clothes were gray, but it was his hair that caught Harry's eye - it was made of bright blue flames. In fact, Harry thought the Greek gods and goddesses all looked similar to the way they looked in the Disney movie Hercules that Hermione had recommended to him.

"So, Hera, you actually found someone to play on your behalf?" Turning to Harry, Hades spoke again. "Well, may the best player win, hmm. Not that I intend to lose, of course." Harry decided that the movie had got Hades character perfect. The man had an oily voice, like a sleazy used car salesman, a charming smirk, and could probably convince Hermione that she was a boy. How was he supposed to beat this guy in a game of chess? He couldn't beat Hermione at chess, and for all her logic, Hermione was the second-worst chess player at Hogwarts, only just avoiding last place by beating him. Hades could probably convince Harry to join Voldemort, just by talking him into it.

Offering only a shaky nod in response, Harry wondered if Hera knew how truly atrocious a chess player he was. Two chairs appeared, Harry and Hades took their places, and the Game began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HADES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A/N: Just a rabid plot bunny that bit me, though if there is interest, this may become a serious story. But hey, there is no story not worth hearing, right? That is my belief as a writer. As always, review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, so a few people have followed this story. Someone actually favourited it! (Is 'favourited' even a word? Hmm...) Anyway, I thank you all, and hope you enjoy the next chapter - because after all, we authors write for our readers, not ourselves. As you should be aware of, I don't own the characters, be they from Harry Potter or Disney. Hmm, bringing in other Disney heroes to help out? Might see if that goes anywhere. On with the story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ZEUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The God of the Dead smirked across the table, and Harry squirmed nervously, before noticing the decidedly odd shape of said table. The reason became apparent, as the table top became a map of the globe, focusing until it showed Britain exclusively. Little figurines popped up all over the board, occasionally moving about. It took Harry a moment to realize that the figures on the map were actual people, and the map was the game board.

"Uh, Hera? This seems more like a game of Risk from the Muggle world than chess."

Hera seemed flustered for a moment, before acknowledging the statement.

"Oh dear. Well, in my defense, it's been a while since I played mortal games, Harry."

Nodding at the logic, Harry turned round, only to see Hades move a piece on the board.

"Hey! I was supposed to start the Game, Hades!"

"And you did, little guy. You spoke to an Olympian besides myself or yourself. That counts as a turn, so I got to make my move. Capishe?"

Shocked at the unfairness of Hades' little trick, Harry was halfway to opening his mouth to ask Hera if Hades could actually do that, before sense caught up to him. 'No. If I ask Hera anything, Hades will say I used my turn, and move another piece without anything stopping him. Gotta play smart. Come on Harry, think. Hermione told me I was brilliant, and I have the powers of a god now. Surely I can think of something.'

Looking at the board, Harry noticed that Hades had used his turn to place a new restriction on the students at Hogwarts. Apparently, moves in the Game were made by implanting ideas in the minds of mortals and making them act on it. Most pieces could be manipulated by either player, except obvious pieces - Dumbledore for Harry, Voldemort for Hades, but besides that, there didn't seem to be limits. An idea occured to Harry when he noticed a discarded piece by the side of the board - in the shape of Cedric Diggory.

Cedric had been a powerful wizard, Harry knew that. To be chosen above all others in Hogwarts implied that he had what it took to win the Triwizard Tournament. If Harry had the powers of a god, what was a little manipulation of Fate and Death in his favour? But how? 'Sirius would know, I bet.' The thought sprang to mind, and with it, a slew of memories - freeing Buckbeak, freeing Sirius, casting a corporeal Patronus, knowing he had saved innocent lives, and finally, the little device that made it possible, the Time-Turner. And the beginnings of a plan formed in his mind. He had supressed it all these years, but now, the cunning the Sorting Hat once saw in him reared it's head and howled.

Tapping the image of Hermione, Harry implanted the idea in her mind. If anyone could get people to listen, it was Hermione Jean Granger. Harry only prayed he hadn't just wasted a turn. He and Hades sat back and watched as the consequences of their respective moves played out before them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HADES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione Granger was not having a good day. That loathsome toad, Umbridge, had passed a new Educational Decree, granting her the title of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor'. Which basically gave her the power to fire any teacher she didn't agree with. Hermione only hoped Professor McGonagall wasn't fired. Life was bad enough for the Gryffindors right now, and that was with the Professor there. And to make matters worse, Harry had slipped into a coma, and Madam Pomphrey wasn't sure how to bring him out of it. According to the nurse, his mind and body were fine. His mind just...wasn't there anymore. Which, of course, had led to a slew of mean jokes from Draco Malfoy about 'that brainless Potter'.

She was beginning to wish she had hit him harder in third year. When she told that to Ron, the redhead simply snorted and said, "Only beginning?" Which of course had the Gryffindors laughing for hours. And if it was slightly hysterical laughter? Nobody mentioned it. They had to take what little joy they could find these days, it seemed. It had been like that ever since Cedric had died. It was horrible of her, and she knew it, but Hermione couldn't help hating Cedric a little for dying. And every time she felt this way, she would hate herself a little more, too. She hadn't told anyone. Who could she tell?

Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon. Her roommates weren't much better. Harry was unconscious/brain-dead. Professor McGonagall was too stressed as it was. And Professor Dumbledore...Of course! She chided herself. Professor Dumbledore could help her. He was the Headmaster, that was his job, right? Nodding to herself, she turned and made her way to Dumbledore's office, giving the password - "Mars Bars" - to the gargoyle, and ascending the stairs. Just as she was about to knock on the door, a voice rang out.

"Do come in, Miss Granger."

Opening the door, a rather bemused Hermione walked in. "How do you do that, sir?"

"I do beg your pardon, but I'm a trifle deaf in this ear today, do please speak up." Pointing at his left ear - which was actually the furthest ear from Hermione - and twinkling at her, Dumbledore immediately set her mind at ease. Sinking rather ungracefully into a chair, she began laying out everything that had been worrying her over the past few months, ending on a slightly hysterical note.

"And I can't help but think that maybe if we were careful to make it all look the same, we could find a way to save Cedric!"

Throughout her entire tale/rant, Albus Dumbledore had sat patiently. He had known this would be coming sooner or later - Miss Granger was strong, but even the best people in the world weren't that strong. Everyone had a breaking point, and when they reached it they would either break into a thousand infinitely tiny pieces, or snap, rage at the world and whoever happened to cross their path at that time, before recovering and moving forward. Albus had no doubt that the Golden Trio, as even the staff called them, were of the sort that would bend to prove they wouldn't break, who would take every blow the unfair world rained upon them, before standing up and retaliating. They were just those sort of people. Heroes, even if they didn't realise it yet.

Standing up and rounding the table, Albus gathered the distraught young witch into his arms, at which she simply threw herself at him and sobbed gently into his robes. He didn't say anything, simply holding her there, letting her take whatever small comfort he could offer her while she composed herself. He had seen many young witches and wizards break down like this, and had done his best to help them through their troubles. He was a teacher, and if he could help his students, then he would. He had offered this same comfort to Miss Chang, who had very nearly - but no, best not to dwell on such things. He had reached her in time, and that was all that mattered. And she was recovering now. It was not going to be easy, but Cho Chang was just another person like Miss Granger.

But something Miss Granger had said had piqued his interest. 'if we were careful to make it all look the same,' implied that she was thinking of using a Time-Turner. Running the scenario through his mind, he had to admit that if it was done very carefully, it could be done, without creating any paradoxes. Let the world believe Cedric was dead so Miss Granger would have the idea, prompting Albus to go back in time. A perfect closed loop.

Half an hour later, Hermione Granger left the Headmaster's office, her doubts banished by the kindly presence of the man who was like a grandfather to all the students. Albus Dumbledore was scribbling advanced Arithmantic calculations on bits of parchment, with an uncommon fervor. And the first move in the Game had been made.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HARRY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A/N: So, there you go. I figured I would show the effects of the moves they make in the second half of each chapter. Plus, with Harry out of the picture temporarily, it allows me to write interactions between the other characters - Dumbledore especially. I love him half the time, and hate him the rest. But in this story, he's the kindly old grandfather that J.K. Rowling intended him to be. And yes, I did make Cho Chang nearly commit suicide. From what we see of her character, I think this is a perfectly believeable plotline. She cried over the mere mention of Cedric's name and was an emotional wreck six months after he died. Half a year, and she was still reeling from his death. So I think that even in canon, Cho Chang could believeably have attempted to commit suicide after Cedric's death. Figured I'd explain that.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Haven't updated in ages, but better late than never, right? I own nothing, as always.

* * *

Hades' move hadn't shown any consequences yet, but Harry's had already boosted everyone who fought for the Light a little. Cedric hadn't seen Voldemort when Dumbledore got him to safety, replacing the seventeen year old with a golem transfigured to look like him, but he had seen Peter Pettigrew. When Amos Diggory demanded that his son be allowed to testify as to what he had seen under Veritaserum, Fudge had no choice but to comply. When Wormtail's survival became public knowledge, Amelia Bones immediately granted Sirius an official pardon. Sirius then took up the Black family seat on the Wizengamot, and began consolidating support to oust Fudge and Umbridge, before beginning to fight Voldemort. Finally, the board indicated that it was time for Harry and Hades to make their next move.

"Nice move, little dude. Did not expect that one. Guess I just wasted a turn then. Well played."

Harry privately thought Hades liked to hear the sound of his own voice too much, but accepted the congratulations for what they were. His move had not only saved Cedric, freed Sirius, and lent credit to his and Dumbledore's version of events, but had the side effect of causing Fudge and Umbridge to be too concerned with the Ministry to take advantage of Umbridge's new 'High Inquisitor' post.

"Now, my turn again. Let's see..."

Reaching across the board to London, Hades tapped the image of Lucius Malfoy, and spoke. "Send assassins to kill Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, the Weasleys and the Grangers." Smirking at Harry, secure in the knowledge that he couldn't save all of them, Hades leaned back in his seat and waited.

Harry started panicking. He had absolutely no idea how to stop Malfoy, and he had no doubt Malfoy would already be contacting assassins unless he did something soon. Turning round, he opened his mouth, before closing it again as he realized what a mistake he nearly made. Turning back to the board, he scanned every piece he had available, desperately trying to figure out how to save his friends and family. Getting Malfoy locked up would take too long, and the blonde would already have hired the assassins by then. Looking across the board once again, he noticed Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy sitting down to breakfast. Lucius would read the newspaper, and hire the assassins, unless Harry did something.

There was no way he could think of to stop Malfoy that didn't result in at least one of his friends dead, and time was running out. Noticing that Narcissa Malfoy was a shade of grey, rather than either white or black, indicated that he could use her as a piece, but he couldn't think how. If he had her distract Malfoy, it would only delay the man from hiring the killers. Malfoy Senior was opening his newspaper to read the story that would spark Hades' idea in his mind. An idea flashed through Harry's mind - a desperate, insane idea - and he acted almost without thinking, tapping Narcissa's figure with his finger and shouting his move.

"Kill Lucius before he finishes breakfast!"

* * *

Lucius snorted in disgust once more when he read the paper, and Narcissa Malfoy felt her rage at the blonde idiot her parents had tricked her into marrying increase just a little more. The man was an inbred fool, and her son seemed determined to follow in his father's footsteps. When he ordered her to pass him the butter, she felt something inside her snap at long last. Drawing her wand, she shoved it under his nose.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light and a rush of air, and the lord of the Malfoy family slumped over, dead, in his breakfast clothes. Narcissa sat there, panting heavily, as what she just did finally started to sink in. All she could think, however, was that she was finally free. Even if they sent her to Azkaban, or sentenced her to the Dementor's Kiss, she was free of Lucius. And really, after being pawed at and slobbered over by Lucius Abraxus Malfoy, how unpleasant could kissing a Dementor actually be?

Walking over to the Floo, she threw in a handful of powder, and called out the only name she could think of. "Sirius Black!"

* * *

Sirius was currently relaxing by the fire, enjoying his first morning as a free man with a glass of port. If only Harry was here, everything would be perfect, he thought. When the flames turned green, he expected it to be another member of the Order, calling to congratulate him. What he didn't expect was to see his cousin's head in the fire, tears starting to make their way down her face, without her usual makeup and perfume present.

"Narcissa? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sirius...Sirius I killed him. I killed Lucius. Please, help me."

Blinking, Sirius started to take in what she had just said. Once it finally sunk in, he leapt from his seat as though he had been burned, crossing the room and fully opening the Floo connection to allow Narcissa to step through. Once she was in the house, he stealthily took her wand from her as he guided her to a seat.

"Tell me everything."

"We were just sitting there, having breakfast, and he was just...I mean I just couldn't...take it anymore. I snapped, and killed him. Far as I know, he's still sitting there. Please, cousin, help me."

That the last few words were spoken as her shoulders began to heave with the effort of suppressing her tears, Sirius was expecting. She had just killed her husband, after all, no matter how much of a bastard the man was. Crossing the room again, he called Amelia Bones, and explained the situation to her. Amelia promised to investigate, but both of them agreed Narcissa wouldn't face charges for it. She'd have to go to trial, of course, but Sirius already had an idea of how to get the charges dropped. Amelia opened an investigation, while Sirius got Narcissa to agree that he would represent her at her trial. Things certainly had started heating up since Harry fell into that coma, he thought.

* * *

A/N: So, what kind of far reaching effects will that move have on the Game? Well, hopefully you won't have to wait a year or so to find out this time. Hope you enjoyed, and please review!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Another chapter, another move, another chance for Hades to be an ass.

* * *

The Game was now heating up. Twenty-three moves had been made so far, and at this point, there was no clear winner. Hades would make a move, and Harry would act to counter it. Three members of the Order of the Phoenix were in St Mungo's after being ambushed by Death Eaters, Narcissa Malfoy was hiding under the Fidelius Charm at Grimmauld Place, and six Death Eaters had been captured, arrested, and sent to Azkaban.

Among the captured Death Eaters was Thaddeus Nott, the father of Theodore Nott, form Harry's year at school. The man had been present in the graveyard, and upon his capture and interrogation under Veritaserum, he had admitted that Voldemort was back. Fudge had been ousted, and Amelia Bones had nominated Amos Diggory to become the new Minister. The man had won by a landslide, especially after Cedric had let it slip to the right ears that Harry Potter had said Amos would be a better Minister than Fudge. Umbridge had been sacked, and was currently being investigated for using Blood Quills on first year students.

And now the two players were sitting facing one another, one deity, and one mortal with the powers of a deity, each glaring at the other, each willing the other to slip up.

"So, Hades! You thought you could get away with it, did you?!"

A tall, muscular man, with a well-trimmed white beard, who was dressed in a plain white toga fastened over his left shoulder with a clasp in the shape of a lightning bolt, stormed into the room. The man's presence was enough to make every person in the room bow, even Hades inclined his head slightly, before catching himself.

"ZEUS! But, but, how? That's not possible, you shouldn't have been able to wake up!"

"Once again, brother, you overestimate your own power. Now, I will take my place and play this round."

A slow, deadly smirk crept across Hades' face as he realized something. "Oh, Zeus-y? That's where you're wrong. See, the Game has already started. And by your own laws," the smirk was full-blown now, every one of Hades' cruel, pointed teeth showing, "no substitutions."

Zeus paled, looking over at Harry, who was desperately trying to figure out a way around the rules, to allow Zeus to play. The ruler of the Gods had experience playing this Game, after all. And then a thought struck him like lightning. And it was Harry's turn to smirk, which confused Zeus and Hades, and most likely every other god and goddess in the room.

"Hades, my man, you just used your turn."

"What?! No, that's not possible, I couldn't have-"

"Oh, but you did. Don't you remember? I made the same mistake. Talking to any Olympian who isn't playing the Game costs one turn. So now it's my turn, Hades."

The flames on Hades head erupted, spreading right across his shoulders and flaring up, turning bright red, yellow, and orange as they did so. "NO!"

"Oh, yes." Tapping an image, Harry made his move, tapping into the knowledge of the Titans directly, in particular Chronos, Titan of Time. No Olympian could do this, as only those not born of a Titan had the ability, and so there had never been a rule made against it. Transferring the knowledge he had gained directly to Hermione, he directed her to write down the identities and locations of every Horcrux along with a method of destroying them that didn't require the destruction of the object itself, before sending her to Dumbledore to hand over the information, along with an assurance that it did come from him directly. Sitting back as the consequences of his free move played out, Harry smirked, being sure to show all his teeth in an effort to mock Hades as much as possible.

"How d'you like them apples, Hades?"

* * *

Hermione had just had the strangest dream. Harry had been there, dressed in an old Greek toga, and had said he was taking over her body for a few moments to write something down, and that once he was done, she should take the information directly to Dumbledore. That had been odd enough, but when he told her about the time in third year when he used his Invisibility Cloak to sneak into Hogsmeade and prank Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, as a means of ensuring he was who he said he was, she was even more confused. Brushing it off as a strange dream, she would have put it out of her mind entirely, but for one thing.

The stack of parchment in Harry's handwriting, sitting on her bedside table when she woke up, which had no way of being there. Panicking, she threw on her clothes, brushed her teeth quickly, and forewent socks and shoes, choosing instead to run barefoot to the Headmaster's office with the stack of parchment. Yelling out the latest password, she sprinted up the revolving staircase three steps at a time, and banged on the door for all she was worth, desperately hoping Dumbledore was in his office. The door opened after two minutes of this, revealing a sleep-tousled Albus Dumbledore in pink pyjamas with unicorns on them.

Blinking away her confusion - clearly she was hallucinating, there was no way the Headmaster would wear those pyjamas - Hermione began talking as fast as she could, not even pausing to breathe until her message was delivered, at which point she fell to the floor, panting and trying to catch her breath.

"I'm afraid you'll have to speak a little slower, my dear. My ears aren't what they used to be."

Blushing crimson to the tips of her toes, she repeated everything she had said, but went slower this time. At the end of it, the Headmaster sat down behind his desk, stroking his beard, looking deep in thought.

"May I see this parchment, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Handing over the parchment, she lapsed into silence again, broken only by the shuffling of parchment as the Headmaster read it, and the occasional warble or trill from Fawkes. Half an hour passed in near-silence, until finally Dumbledore laid the parchments upon his desk, and looked up at her. Gulping, she met his gaze, confused by the complete seriousness reflected there. The man's eyes were two hard chips of ice, his brow furrowed, slight swirls of magic emanating off him.

"Have you read this parchment, Miss Granger?"

"No sir."

"Has anyone else?"

"Not that I know of, sir. I was the first one to wake up this morning."

"Does anyone else know of it's existence?"

That question scared her. "I don't think so, sir. Except Harry, if the dream was real."

"It was real, Miss Granger. And young Harry has just won us the war."

Hermione nearly fell out of her seat at that announcement. "But, sir, how do you-"

"The information in these documents will be the information that wins us this war, and ensures Voldemort's final destruction. Harry risked much to get this information to us. I must ask, Miss Granger, that you permit me to Obliviate the knowledge of their existence from your mind until the war is over and Harry returns to us. I cannot stress enough how terrible it would be were Lord Voldemort to obtain this information."

"If it will help Harry, and help defeat V-Voldemort, sir, then by all means you have my permission."

"Thank you, Hermione. You may well have just saved untold numbers of lives by this action. Obliviate."

The last thought she had before the spell hit her was, 'That's the first time he's called me Hermione.'

* * *

A/N: Things are heating up, and I think there might only be one or two more chapters for this story. As always, I own nothing, and please review!


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